- With the victory, Whitecaps FC are currently in second place in the Western Conference with 10 points, two points out of first place with a game in hand
- Fafà Picault recorded a goal and an assist for a second straight appearance
- Ryan Gauld recorded his first goal of the 2024 MLS season
- With Gauld scoring, the 'Caps have had eight different goalscorers so far this season
- After not scoring an MLS goal in 2023, Ryan Raposo has now scored in two of the first three home matches at BC Place, also adding an assist in the road match at FC Dallas
- Whitecaps FC open Cascadia Cup play with a win to lead the early 2024 standings after capturing their seventh title in 2023, tied with Seattle for the most among the three clubs
VANCOUVER, BC – It was a scorcher of a match in Vancouver on Saturday as Vancouver Whitecaps FC managed to edge fellow Cascadia rivals Portland Timbers 3-2 in front of a packed-out BC Place.
In this highly-anticipated Cascadia clash, Whitecaps FC started brightly. Ryan Gauld opened the scoring inside two minutes. Good work from Ali Ahmed down the left allowed Gauld to fire off a shot inside the box. While his first was saved by Maxime Crépeau, the Portland keeper could do nothing to deny the Scot a second bite of the cherry to take the lead.
Gauld nearly got his second in quick succession, after Alessandro Schöpf found him in the box with a driven cross. Gauld managed to divert it towards goal but his effort took a deflection and bounced off the bar, getting cleared before it could cross the line.
Whitecaps FC continued to build on their early dominance through clever attacking plays, one of which gave them their second inside half-an-hour. Schöpf was at the heart of it once again, flying down the right side before driving another cross in the box. The cross would get deflected, but that allowed it to roll perfectly for Fafà Picault to hit it first time and arrow it past Crépeau to double the lead, 2-0.
Portland tried to claw one back in the last 15 minutes of the half, but were denied by a resolute Whitecaps FC defence, who held on until the halftime whistle.
Whitecaps FC continued to defend their lead at the start of the second half, withstanding the early Portland pressure. The Timbers eventually found their breakthrough in the 52nd minute, however, through Evander. The Brazilian was found in open space by Cristhian Paredes, and made no mistake by thrashing it into the top left corner.
The ‘Caps nearly found a third just past the hour mark, after clever work from Gauld on the right. The Scot closed down Kamal Miller, won back possession and chipped it in for Levonte Johnson. The substitute managed to slip past Crépeau, but the angle was too narrow to get a proper shot in, getting cleared off the line.
Pedro Vite had a chance minutes later, curling a shot wide from inside the box after a scramble from a cross. Portland did not lie down despite that ‘Caps pressure, and would equalize with less than a quarter of the match to go. Evander’s cross from the left found the head of Felipe Mora, who sprung to the ball to nod Portland back on level terms.
Whitecaps FC would have the last laugh, though, as they snatched the win in the last minutes of the match through Ryan Raposo.
Sam Adekugbe crossed a dangerous ball into the box, wreaking havoc for the Timbers defence. After bouncing around, Picault managed to back-heel it across goal for Raposo to tap-in.
Miller almost stole a point for Portland at the death, but his header off an Evander cross just fizzed past the post. That would be the last chance of the game before the referee blew his final whistle, giving Whitecaps FC all three points on the night.
Whitecaps FC are back at home next Saturday, April 6 as they face Canadian rivals Toronto FC on Vaisakhi Night, featuring a performance from world-renowned bhangara artist Jazzy B. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
VWFC GE Appliances Player of Quality: Fafá Picault
Attendance: 24,693
Referee: Allen Chapman
Scoring Summary
2’ – VAN – Ryan Gauld
29’ – VAN – Fafá Picault
52’ – POR – Evander (Cristhian Paredes)
78’ – POR – Felipe Mora (Evander)
87’ – VAN – Ryan Raposo (Fafá Picault)
Statistics
Possession: VAN 43% - POR 57%
Shots: VAN 13 - POR 11
Shots on Goal: VAN 6 - POR 4
Saves: VAN 2 - POR 3
Fouls: VAN 13 - POR 6
Offsides: VAN 3 - POR 1
Corners: VAN 1 - POR 0
Cautions
51’ – VAN – Andrés Cubas
90’ – VAN – Sam Adekugbe
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Yohei Takaoka; 2.MathÃas Laborda (15.Bjørn Inge Utvik 71’), 4.Ranko Veselinović, 6.Tristan Blackmon; 8.Alessandro Schöpf (7.Ryan Raposo 81’), 20.Andrés Cubas, 45.Pedro Vite (16.Sebastian Berhalter 81’), 22.Ali Ahmed (3.Sam Adekugbe 80’); 11.Fafà Picault, 19.Damir Kreilach (28.Levonte Johnson 64’), 25.Ryan Gauld ©
Substitutes not used
32.Isaac Boehmer, 12.Belal Halbouni, 13.Ralph Priso, 23.Javain Brown
Portland Timbers
16.Maxime Crépeau; 29.Juan Mosquera, 18.Zac McGraw (13.Dario Zuparic 45’), 4.Kamal Miller, 15.Eric Miller (99.Nathan Fogaça 94’); 22.Cristhian Paredes (19.Eryk Williamson 64’), 21.Diego Chara; 30.Santiago Moreno (27.Dairon Asprilla 83’), 10.Evander, 11.Antony (9.Felipe Mora 64’); 14.Jonathan RodrÃguez
Substitutes not used
41.James Pantemis, 2.Miguel Araujo, 24.David Ayala
